With a lot of fanfare earlier this month, Cboe Global Markets, Inc., a Chicago-based exchanges company that offers trading, clearing, and investment solutions, bucked more than a few trends when it launched a hybrid, open outcry trading floor in “the historic Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) building” at 141 West Jackson Boulevard. “We are continuing… Read More >>
Weiss Asset Management Penalized $6.9M via SEC Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission reports that Weiss Asset Management LP, an investment advisory firm known by its acronym WAM, has agreed to pay approximately $6.9 million to settle charges that “it violated the federal securities laws when it unlawfully purchased stock in seven public offerings after selling short those same stocks.” Specifically, the WAM… Read More >>
Disaster Recovery & Resilience Are Part of Production: DTCC
A new white paper from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) is making the case that disaster recovery and resilience are becoming part of the real-time, production IT infrastructure at financial services firms rather than rare contingencies. The report, “The Power of Technology Resilience: A Framework for the Industry,” argues that while firms are… Read More >>
ICE Expands Fixed Income Services & More News
ICE Best Execution Platform Gets a Makeover Officials at Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) report that the exchanges and technology company is doubling its coverage of fixed income instruments via improvements to the ICE Best Execution Service platform. The enhancements encompass pre-trade analysis, and front-, middle- and back-office services, and will help the ICE platform manage… Read More >>
SocGen to Revamp Derivatives Clearing & Other News
Société Générale to Deploy FIS Solution Société Générale and systems and services provider FIS report that the French banking giant will be using the FIS Cleared Derivatives Suite for a “strategic transformation of its derivatives clearing back-office.” “As part of the agreement, the investment bank and financial services group will transition their existing derivatives… Read More >>
CFTC Sues Gemini Over Bitcoin Futures Offering Data
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is suing Gemini Trust Company, based in New York City, alleging that in 2017 the cryptocurrency exchange made false or misleading statements to the CFTC about the self-certification of a bitcoin futures product. The regulator has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of… Read More >>
Senate Bill Pushes Regulation & Innovation for Digital Assets
A bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), offers a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets that encourages innovation while also protecting against “bad actors” in volatile and highly risky markets. The proposed law, the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, is also meant to boost “financial innovation, flexibility, transparency and… Read More >>
Greenwashing Crackdowns Should Spur ESG Funds Review: Q&A
(For financial services firms, the term “greenwashing” refers to misleading marketing about investments based upon Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability concerns. The practice has been getting a lot of attention recently as major media have reported upon a raid by German authorities of Deutsche Bank’s DWS offices in an effort to gather evidence… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch to Give Back $15.2M to Customers
FINRA, the self-regulatory organization for broker-dealers, has ordered Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith (MLPF&S) to pay $15.2 million-plus to “thousands of customers who purchased Class C mutual fund shares when Class A shares were available at substantially lower costs.” Looking at it from street level, you might be reminded of the shell game separating… Read More >>
Glencore Penalized $1B+ via Corruption Cases
Glencore International A.G. and Glencore Ltd., which are part of a commodity trading and mining firm based in Baar, Switzerland, have admitted their guilt in sprawling schemes of foreign bribery and market manipulation that led to market advantages but also scandal, plea bargains, and a billion-dollar fine. Among many authorities across the globe, the complex… Read More >>